Suriyon Poolvoralaks, a founder and former major shareholder of SET-listed developer Major Development (MJD), has started a new property company, SPJ Land Co, to focus solely on luxury residential development.
"Luxury residential development is my passion," he said. "With 20 years of experience in the luxury segment, knowing what customers in this segment want, I think I can focus more on luxury products."
STEPPING BACK
Mr Suriyon resigned in March last year from the positions of MJD director and chief executive, along with his wife Jitradee, who resigned from the positions of director and executive director. Since then, he gradually sold his shares in MJD until he was not among the top 10 shareholders.
"Since MJD developed its first project in 2002, it always focused on the luxury segment. But as it needed to diversify to grow, it moved into other segments," said Mr Suriyon.
According to MJD's annual report for 2021, the company diversified into mid-priced condos, charging 90,000 baht per square metre to adjust to market demand and expand its base to more new customers.
"MJD continued to grow," said Mr Suriyon, who joined MJD in 2002. "It may not focus on the luxury segment like I used to do, so I decided to start a new company -- SPJ Land."
FIRST PROJECT
He founded SPJ Land in 2020 with registered capital of 120 million baht and spent a year seeking a viable land plot, then another year developing the first project -- Lavista Ekkamai 10 -- worth 600 million baht.
The project is located on a plot of 445 square wah on Ekamai Soi 10, which is also linked to Pridi Banomyong Soi 25, comprising seven four-storey single detached houses priced 80-100 million baht.
All units are slated to be completed before launching for sale early next year, as customers in the luxury segment want to see a real, completed unit before making a decision.
"There are still customers who want a luxury home in inner-city locations as their lifestyle revolves around the city centre. They want to shift from living in a condo to a single detached house as their family expands," said Mr Suriyon.
LOCATION MATTERS
He said SPJ Land will prioritise location. It will focus only on locations in the Sukhumvit area such as Asok, Thong Lor and Ekamai, but no farther than Sukhumvit Soi 71 or Pridi Banomyong Road.
"I developed a super-luxury project with units priced around 100 million baht in Krungthep Kreetha, but that location is quite far from the city centre," said Mr Suriyon. "It is a red ocean location due to overwhelming supply from many developers."
If possible, plots for the company's luxury housing projects should be on a soi rather than the main road to avoid noise, he said. The company also prefers sois with access to other sois rather than a cul-de-sac.
With 30 staff, SPJ Land will focus on development of low-rise housing projects with only 8-9 units a site, as target customers want exclusivity and less crowded communities, said Mr Suriyon. They also want neighbours who have the same lifestyle, he said.
"The scale for this segment is a niche market, as it is too small for large developers, while small developers may not have the customer insight," said Mr Suriyon.
From his talks with customers, he found they prefer inner-city locations rather than the suburbs because of the traffic. If they choose the latter, they may get a bigger unit with more space, but it may not match their lifestyle, said Mr Suriyon.
"Their children also prefer inner-city locations where they can easily access mass transit lines," he said. "On weekends, parents can shop at luxury malls in the city, as neighbourhood malls in outer-city locations may not be their preference."
Mr Suriyon said plots sized around one rai are still available on sois along Sukhumvit Road, as the land and building tax prompted some homeowners to sell their land, the value of which may exceed 50 million baht, which is the threshold for taxes on primary residences.
"Since the land and building tax came into effect, land supply is always available, but the price has never dropped, even during the pandemic," he said. "On Ekamai Road, land is priced around 400,000-500,000 baht per sq w and has never decreased."
SPJ Land plans to develop 2-3 projects per year with a small number of units per project, focusing on the luxury segment. The company is also interested in condo development, but with only a few units, said Mr Suriyon.
"SPJ Land is a new firm, but with 20 years of developing projects worth more than 30 billion baht, I can guarantee my reputation," he said.
